This site is a perfect example of how good photography is an easy and almost instant way to create classy design.
The dramatic photo does all the aesthetic heavy lifting along with some grungy and old style text to support the theme.

Great use of color and texture to create a background with a subtle hint of reality.
On a photography site you simply cannot go wrong with a large slideshow front and center. This one showcases her work very well and succeeds in grabbing your attention immediately.

A really nice photography portfolio design. The images at the top have an accordion-like animation when you hover over them.
I like the dark theme and noisy background, which goes really well with the minimal button style containing a single pixel stroke and slightly transparent fill.

This site features an excellent old time, grayscale look and feel with dramatic photography and minimalist design elements.
Only the homepage is featured above so be sure to stop by the site and click around to see the design style continued in different ways throughout the other pages on the site.